Automatic control apparatus.



PATENTED MAY 26, 1908.

J. B. H. GLOLOGE.

AUTOMATIC CONTROL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION TILED MAY 15,1906.

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PATENTED MAY 26, 1908.

f No. 888,961.

J. B. H. GLOLOGE. AUTOMATIG CONTROL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15/1906.

JEAN BAPTISTE HENRI CLOLOGE, OF BORDEAUX, FRANCE.

AUTOMATIC CONTROL APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. I

Patented May 26, 1908.

Application filed May 15, 1906. Serial No. 317,019.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEAN BAPTISTE HENRI CLOLOGE, engineer, citizen ofthe French Re-' public, residing at Bordeaux, Department of Gironde,France, and having post oflice address 45 Rue des Faures, in the saidcity, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in AutomaticControl Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an automatic control apparatus for verifyingthe hour of arriva of a carrier pigeon when competing in a race: and theobject thereof is to provide an apparatus of such class in a manner ashereinafter set forth with means to prevent the acceleration of theclock mechanism immediately after the indicating ring carried by thepigeon is inserted in the apparatus; or in other words, to so set up theapparatus in a manner as hereinafter set forth as to prevent any actionon the movement of the clock mechanism for fraudulent purposes after theindicating ring has been inserted in the apparatus.

1th the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists ofthe novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinaftermore specifically described and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein is shown the preferred embodiment of the invention,but it is to be under stood that changes, variations and modificationscan be resorted to which come within the scope of the claims hereuntoappended.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote correspondingparts throughout the several views-Figure 1 is a front view of anautomatic control apparatus in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 isa like view with the cover'removed showing the parts so positioned as toprevent the operation of the clock mechanism; Fig. 3 is a similar viewwith the parts so disposed as to allow of the operation of the clockmechanism Fig. 4 is a side elevation broken away; Figs. 5-14 are detailsof the various elements of the apparatus; Fig. 15 is a plan of amodification showing the parts in osition to prevent the operation ofthe cloclf mechanism; Fig. 1.6 is an end view of the apparatus when theparts are in the position shown in Fig. 15; Fig. 17 is a view similar toFig.;15, but with the parts so positioned as to allow of the operationof the clock mechanism Fig. 18 is an end view of the apparatus when theparts are in the position shown in Fig. 17, and, Fig. 19 is a transversesection on line (Zd of Fig. 17.

Referring to Figs. 1-14 of the drawings, the casing in which is mountedthe elements of the apparatus is formed of two sections,

one of which consists of a plate A constitut-' ing a base and which isformed with an upwardly-extending annular flange A split at one side toform a pair of laterally-extending ears E provided with openings. Theflange A, diametrically opposite the ears E carries aninwardly-extending pin 0, the function of which will be hereinafterreferred to. The outer section of the casing is indicated by thereference character B and constitutes a cap or cover having acentrally-arranged opening in which is positioned a glass or other suitable piece of transparent material as at B. The transparent member B issecured in a seat B formed by a supporting ring B and an ofifset portionB of the cover B. The cover B is of such diameter with respect to thediameter of the flange A as to allow of the mounting of the cover uponthe plate A so that the flange A will surround the lower portion of thecover B. The latter is formed with an opening D to receive the pin C anddiametrically opposite the opening D the cover is formed with a lug Fadapted to extend between the ears E. The lug F is formed with anopening which registers with the openings in the ears E and extendingthrough said lug F and ears E is a sealing device E.

From the foregoing arrangement it is obvious that the two sections ofthe cover cannot be tampered with without its being observed.

The plate A is provided with an entrance opening G to allow of theinsertion of the indicating ring carried by the pigeon and the saidopening G is closed through the medium of a segment-shaped plate Hpivoted upon the axis 1. The plate H is clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6and is provided with a vertically-extending cylindrical receptacle Z toreceive the ring. An opening is formed in the plate H to allow of theinsertion of the ring into the receptacle, Z. The shifting of the plateH upon the axis 1 is had through the medium of a pulling spring J whichis fixed as at J to the receptacle Z and has its other end attached to astud K carried by the plate A. The lower end of the plate H is formedwith a hook H adapted to engage the pin H carried by the pivot V of alever X. The lever X is arranged exteriorly of the plate A; the pivot Vextends through said plate and the pin PP is formed on the inner end ofthe pivot V. Carried by the plate A at a point in proximity to thepivoted end thereof is a pin Y adapted to engage the shouldered end L ofa forked lever L and maintain said lever L in the position shown in Fig.2 until the said. lever L is released. The latter is mounted upon thepivot M and carries at its pivoted end a hook N to which is attached oneend of a pulling spring N, the latter having its other end fixed to thestud 0 carried by the plate A. The function of the spring N is to shiftthe forked. lever L from the position shown. in Fig. 2 to the positionshown in Fig. 3.

The casing which carries the clock mechanism is indicated by thereference character P and is mounted upon a rod R and the sleeve Q whichsurrounds said red, the di ameter of the sleeve being such as to enablesaid sleeve to freely rotate around the rod R. The sleeve Q is fixed tothe casing P. The casing P is also connected to the red It by a suitableholdfast device, but the connection between the casing P and the rod Ris such as to allow of the rotation of the casing. The casing P carriesa stop lever S which is pivoted as at T and is adapted to bear upon thebalance wheel T of the clock mechanism to arrest the movement thereof.The lever S projects from the casing P and normally engages with thebalance wheel T, but is shifted from engaging position through themedium of the receptacle Z engaging the outer end of the lever S whenthe plate H and easing P are shifted. Such operation will be hereinaftermore specifically referred to. Projecting from the lower face of thecasing 'P is a pin U which is adapted to extend the tines of the forkedlever L as clearly shown in Fig. 2 and when the said lever is engaged bythe pin Y so as to maintain the free end of the lever in close proximitywith the sleeve Q and against the pull of the spring N.

In Fig. 2 is shown the position of the parts of the apparatus for thereception of the indicating ring when the same has been removed from thepigeon and so as to start the clock mechanism for timing purposes. Itmay be stated that after a ring has been inserted in the apparatus themechanism cannot be re-set for the reception of another ring unless theseal of the casing is broken and the first ring which has been insertedin the apparatus has been removed. The ring havingbeen inserted throughthe opening G into the receptacle Z, the lever X is shifted, therebyreleasing the hook H from the pin H. The release of the hook H allowsthe spring J to act and consequently cause the shifting of the platetoward the stud K.

During such movement of the plate H the pin Y will be moved fromengagement with the shoulder L of the lever L and allow the spring N toshift the lever L upon its pivot M and the action of the pin Q againstthe tines of the fork will cause a shifting of the casing P in the samedirection as the plate lil. During the shifting of the casing P theouter end of the lever S will engage the receptacle Z, consequently saidlever S will be shifted upon its pivot and the inner end of said lever Swill be moved out of engagement with the balance wheel 7 and allow ofthe operation of the clock mechanism. As the watch easing pivots freelyon its axis it will be evident that it will be impossible to acceleratethemovement of the watch by. means of oscillating the apparatus.

In Figs. 15% 9 a means is shown whereby the hair spring of the balancewheel is placed under tension so that immediately upon the release ofthe balance wheel the watch. mechanism will start to operate. In theconstruction shown in Figs. F14 it has been found that sometimes whenthe balance wheel. is released the watch mechanism will not immediatelystart and it would. necessitate the oscillation of the apparatus once ortwice so that the watch mechanism will operate. At other times the watchmechanism has immediately started after the balance wheel was released,but to insure the immediate starting of the watch mechanism a modifiedconstruction is shown whereby the hair spring is placed under tension sothat when the balance wheel is released the watch mechanism willimmediately start to operate.

Referring to Figs. 15-19 the casing of the watch mechanism is indicatedby the reference character 10 and is loosely mounted upon the pivot 10which is positioned in the upper compartment 10 of the casing 10. Thelatter is formed with a partition 10 so as to constitute the casing 10"with the upper compartment 10 and the lower compartment 10. Mounted uponthe pivot 4 carried by the casing 10 is an elbow-shaped lever 3, thelower end of which is formed with an angular extension 8 which projectsthrough a slot formed in the casing 10 the end walls of the slot beingindicated by the reference character 7. The lever 3 is caused to rotatein the direction of the arrow 14 by the spring 5 which is fixed at oneend as at 5' and has its free end bearing against a pin 6 carried by theupper arm of the lever 23 in close proximity to the pivot 4. The upperarm of the lever 3 furthern'iore carries a curved spring 1 whichis'adapted to engage the balance wheel 2 of the clock mechanism. Thefunction of the spring 1 is to stop the movement of the balance wheel,consequently arresting the operation of the clock mechanism and alsoacts as a track upon which the balance wheel can travel when the casing10 is shifted in one direction so as to wind the hair spring to storetension therein and by such operation when the spring 1 is released fromengagement with the balance wheel 2 the hair spring will also bereleased and the tension stored therein will cause the immediateoperation of the balance wheel 2.

The compartment 10 is divided by the partition 10 into a ring-receivingchamber 17 formed in the end 17 of the casing 10 Arranged in closeproximity to the end 17 is a guide member 17 0 between which and the end17 is positioned a closure plate 11 for the opening 17 One end of theclosure plate 11 is formed with a protuberance 12 adapted to extendthrough the opening 17" and engage in a seat 18 formed at one side ofthe opening 17*. Attached to that end of the closure plate 11 oppositeto that end which is provided with the protuberance 12, is one end of aprojecting spring 18, the other end of the spring 18 being fixed to thecasing 10 The function of the spring 18 is to automatically shift theplate 11 across the opening 17' so as to prevent access to the chamber17. The closure plate 11 is shifted when setting the device manually tothe position shown in Fig. 15 and retained in such position against theaction of the spring 18 through the medium of the protuberance 12engaged in the'seat 13. the protuberance 12 is shifted from the seat 13it is evident that the action of the spring 18 will shift the plate 11across the opening 17 The closure plate 11 when in the position shown inFig. 15 acts as a means to retain one end of a latch member 9 in suchrelation with respect to the angular end 8 and spring 16 as to preventthe shifting of the casing 10. l/Vhen the latch member 9 is -in theposition shown in Fig. 15 and held in such position through the mediumof the plate 11 upon which the lower end of the latch member 9 issupported, such manner of positioning the latch member 9 is held againstthe action of the spring 20 which is connected at one end to the saidmember 9 and to the partition 10 to allow of the shift-- ing of thelatch member 9 to permit of the swinging of the casing 10 upon itspivot. The closure plate 11 is formed with a notch 11*, which when itcomes opposite one end of the latch member 9 is adapted to receive thesaid end, the spring 20 forcing the lower end of the member 9 in thenotch 11 This also acts as a means to lock the closure plate 11 in theposition shown in Figs. 17 and 18 to prevent access being had tothechamber 17. The spring 16 is carried-by the casing 10 and has itsfree end projecting through the opening formed in said casing and thatend of the latch member 9 which extends between the angular end 8 of thelever 23 and the spring 16 is indicated by the reference When character15. An opening 9 is formed in the partition 10 to allow the lower end 15of the member 9 to be positioned between the lower end of theelbow-shaped lever and the spring 16.

Then setting the apparatus the latch member 9 is shifted to the end ofits stroke towards the casing 10 and the closure plate 11 is pushed tothe left to the position shown in Fig. 15 and retained in such positionowing 'to' the )rotuberance 12 en 'a im in the seat 13. The watchmechanism is then rotated in the direction of the arrow 14 until the end15 of the latch member 9 has passed over the spring 16, the end 15 beingthen interposed between the angular extension 8 and the freeend of thespring 16. In this position the operation of the watch mechanism isarrested owing to the engagement of the spring 1 with the balance wheel2. Then the watch casing 10 is shifted to the position shown in Fig. 15the balance wheel bears upon the spring 1; the wheel is consequentlyrotated, and tension is applied to the hair spring as will be evident.After the parts have been set in a manner as stated and it is desired tocause the operation of the watch mechanism the indicating ring isintroduced in the chamber 17 through the opening 17 the protuberance 12is lifted. out of its seat 13, which allows of the closure plate 11 toassume the position shown in Fig. 19, and further allows of the shiftingof the latch member 9 so as to draw the end 15 from between the angularend 8 of the elbow lever 8 and the spring 16. hen the latch member 9 isshifted to the position just stated one end thereof enters the notch 11and locks the plate 11 in the position shown in Fig. 17 During itsmovement the spring 5 bearing upon the pin 6 will shift the elbow-shapedlever 3, causing the said lever 3 to assume the position shown in Fig.17 and the shifting of the spring 1 from engagement with the balancewheel 2. Such action will cause the immediate operation of the clockmechanism owing to the fact that the hair spring will be released.

What I claim is- 1. In a device of the character described, a casehaving an opening, a normally-locked spring-actuated closure for saidopening, timing mechanism rotatably mounted in said casing, and meansengaged by said closure for holding the timing mechanism againstrotation, said holding means released by the closure when the latter isshifted in one direction by the action of the spring.

2. In a device of the character described, a case having an opening, aspring-actuated closure plate for said opening, timing mechanismrotatably mounted in said case, means for locking said closure plate inits normal position, means for locking said closure plate when releasedfrom its normal position, and means engaged by said closure for holdingthe timing mechanism against rotation, said holding means released bythe closure when the latter is shifted in one direction by the action ofits spring.

3. In a device of the character described, a casing provided with anopening, a springactuated closure plate for said opening, a timingmechanism rotatably mounted in said case, a spring-actuated latch memberengaging with the timing mechanism to prevent the shifting thereof inone direction, a spring-actuated locking mechanism for the timingmechanism, said latch member adapted to be maintained in engagement withthe timing mechanism when the closure plate is in its normal position,and means whereby said closure plate can'be released to allow of theshifting of said plate by said spring, causing thereby the shifting ofsaid latch member from engagement With the timing mechanism and theshifting of the locking mechanism from engagement with the timingmechanism thereby releasing the latter.

4-. A device of the character described, comprising a casing providedWith an opening, a normally locked spring-actuated closure for saidopening, a timing mechanism rotatably mounted in said casing, means toprevent the shifting of said timing mechanism in one direction, and acombined locking and shifting means for the said timing mechanism, saidcombined locking and shifting means actuated when the closure plate isreleased, and means whereby said. closure plate can be released.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JEAN BAP'llS'lE HENRI CLOLOGE. l/Vitnesses:

EMILE KLo'rZ, PAUL BLUM.

